26 JUNE 2024 HDD Helps Snowy 2.0 Project Move Forward Adapted from Information by Snowy Hydro Snowy Hydro’s Snowy 2.0 project in New South Wales, Australia, is a major renewable energy system designed to provide on-demand energy and large-scale storage for generations to come. As the largest committed renewable energy project in Australia, Snowy 2.0 involves linking two existing dams, the Tantangara and Talbingo, through roughly 16 miles of tunnels, while building a new underground power station. Water will be pumped to the upper dam when there is surplus renewable energy production and the demand for energy is low, and then released back to the lower dam to generate energy when electricity demand is high. It will provide flexible, on-demand power while reusing or recycling the water in a closed loop to maximize the efficiency of renewables by using excess solar and wind energy to pump water to the higher dam, to be stored for later use. Snowy 2.0 will provide enough energy storage to power three million homes over the course of a week. It will also create significant training and development opportunities for Australia’s workforce. A complex task is underway at Lobs Hole to drill boreholes for the pipes to house power, water, and fiber-optic cable for communications across three of the Snowy 2.0 sites. Lobs Hole is the biggest construction site for Snowy 2.0. It is where the main access tunnel, emergency cable ventilation tunnel, main camp accommodations, and main yard are located. Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) is being used to drill mile-long boreholes from Lobs Hole to the Marica site, which is the upstream surge shaft for Snowy 2.0. The surge shaft has two key purposes for the operation of the power station: as a water storage and vacuum relief when the power station starts up, and to absorb the momentum of water movement within the headrace when the power station is shut down. Two drilling operations are underway from top and bottom and will join up to create a continuous borehole. The boreholes eliminate the need to construct approximately three miles of roads and excavate nearly 200-foot cuts in the steep terrain, helping the Snowy 2.0 project team minimize environmental impacts. HDD techniques will also be used to take services under the Snowy Mountains Highway and waterways across the plateau through to the Tantangara work site. At Marica, the surge shaft is about one-fifth of the way to its final depth of around 860 feet and the company has started its drill and blast activities. At Talbingo, tunnelling of the tailrace adit is complete. The tunnel boring machine, Lady Eileen Hudson, is now excavating the tailrace tunnel alignment and heading toward the power station complex. This marks the start of the first power waterway on the Snowy 2.0 project. The target date for commercial operation of all Snowy 2.0 units is December 2028, with first power expected in the second half of 2027. DIR Time for a Little Fun! May Puzzle Solution: 1. tries 5. stray 2. acres 6. oasis 3. steak 7. speak 4. exams 8. spare Win a prize! Send completed puzzle to: WWDR PO Box 660 Bonifay, FL 32425 fax: 850-547-0329 or e-mail: michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com S_________ A_________ F_________ E_________ T_________ Y_________ Discover 6 words, each with 6 letters, that begin with the letters in SAFETY - by going forward, backward, or diagonal, not skipping letters or counting the same letter twice. The first word has been marked through in blue. ENSOR
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